Gdansk – A Trip to the Baltic

The main reason I wanted to go to Gdansk was to dip my feet in the Baltic Sea. Originally I’d wanted to go swimming but the weather was bad (cold and raining) and the water was freezing so I settled for just getting my feet wet.

Warsaw – Arriving in the East

Ahh Warszawa. Poland was like a breath of fresh air after being in hot and humid Spain and Morocco for so long. I got off the plane and finally I didn’t feel gross any more. I also began my time in Poland with making a new friend straight away, Iurii from Ukraine, before even leaving the airport. We had dinner together before I went to my hostel and it rained while we were eating. Half the sky was bright and sunny, the other half dark and raining, the pizza was delicious, the company was great, it all made me so happy!

Madrid and Toledo – Capital Cities Old and New

From Granada I took the bus to Madrid. This was pretty much a whole day affair, and once I arrived I took the metro out to my campsite. That’s right. I camped in Madrid. I had been unsuccessful in finding a Couchsurfing host for Madrid (you win some, you lose some), and the cheapest hostel I could find was €24. Then I found a campsite, Camping Osuna, that would charge me half the price of the hostel, was close to a metro station affording easy access to the city centre, and had good clean bathrooms and free wifi. The three nights that I spent there in my tent saved me enough money compared to staying in a hostel that the tent has already paid for itself now.

Gibraltar – Big Rock and Beautiful Beaches

I swear the shower I had in the hotel in Algeciras was one of the best showers of my life. It actually wasn’t, now I think about it, but at the time it really was amazing as it had been several days since the last time I showered in an actual shower. The fact that I had a private room with a double bed helped too. This wasn’t entirely by choice, it was just the cheapest accommodation available in Algeciras where my ferry arrived in Spain from Morocco.